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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security before the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by media examinations earlier this year implied she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

The activist added that the penalty was not finality for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he said.